AEW is positioning its upcoming All In: Texas event on July 12 as a landmark show, establishing several firsts for the promotion. The spectacle will be the company’s first pay-per-view held in Texas, its first in a U.S. baseball stadium, Globe Life Field, and the inaugural All In broadcast on Amazon Prime Video. Adding to its unique presentation is a special afternoon start time of 3 p.m. EST, a move designed to avoid a head-to-head conflict with WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event XL.
The earlier schedule is a considerable benefit for viewers, who will not need to stay up late for a broadcast that frequently exceeds four hours. For comparison, the recent Double or Nothing event began at the more traditional 8 p.m. EST. This has led to questions about whether the fan-friendly timing could become a new standard for the promotion.
However, any hope for this becoming a permanent change may be premature. During a recent edition of Fightful Select’s Weekly Q&A podcast, Sean Ross Sapp addressed the possibility of the 3 p.m. EST start time continuing if All In proves successful. Sapp expressed that while he would personally prefer the earlier slot, it is an unlikely long-term strategy for AEW.
The reasoning, according to Sapp, is rooted in business analytics, as later start times have historically generated stronger pay-per-view buy rates. He cited the UFC’s scheduling adjustments as an example, noting the MMA promotion had previously moved its main card start time to 9 p.m. EST before ultimately reverting to the later 10 p.m. EST window. In contrast, Sapp mentioned that WWE has found success by taking its audience into consideration and concluding its premium live events earlier.
Despite the questions surrounding future scheduling, the card for All In: Texas continues to build into a massive event, underscored by a high-stakes title unification match. During the June 11 Summer Blockbuster special of AEW Dynamite, a contract signing confirmed a “Winner Takes All” bout between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada. The match will unify the AEW International and Continental Championships, with the victor being crowned the inaugural AEW Unified Champion.
Further bolstering the event, a marquee tag team match is planned that will see The Young Bucks take on the duo of Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay. The conflict escalated on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite when an attack by The Young Bucks on Strickland prompted Ospreay to intervene, setting the stage for their clash in Texas. As of now, no official stipulations have been added to the tag team contest.
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